Jig Man

You have your heat way too high. Lead melts at like 600°F.

The first thing I'd do is skim off all the crap on top. Get the lead out of the pot and give it a good cleaning. Then I'd remelt the lead and flux it. The way I flux is when the lead is hot I drop candle wax into the lead. If it doesn't burst into flame, I light the smoke. I stir the lead until the fire goes out. Then skim off the top again. After this, I flux everytime I heat the pot. If you haven't fluxed, you may be amazed at the difference you will see in the lead. When pouring I keep a propane torch handy. If the lead stream starts getting choked off or the pot starts dripping, I fire up the torch and head the spout for a few seconds. Then keeping the torch on the spout, I open it up and let the gunk flow out into a catch pan. Then I am good to go again.

I don't really think you will be able to see much detail with the low pixel count of the two units you listed. I'd take a look around and see what is out there in a good used one that needs a new home because the owner bought and HD or side imaging unit. There are thousands like that all over the place right now.

Have you tried going deeper for bigger fish?

Tubes and drop shot are the two baits that give me line twist unless I use braid then I don't notice it.

Loose wires more than likely caused the problem. Keep then tight. The thing you need to pay attention to most is the reserve capacity or reserve amps. The more you have the longer the battery will last. I only run 180 or more. Your battery needs to be a deep cycle for use on a trolling motor. It will cost you about $100 +/-.

I night fish about 1/2 of the time. The only thing I do different from day fishing is I fish slower than during the day and I don't throw baits with treble hooks because of one late night trip to the hospital to get a jitterbug out of my cousin's thumb.

Target seperation is largely determined by what unit you have. How many pixels does your unit have?

A quart will make a bunch of flukes. It is not the cost of the plastic that will get into your pocket. You have to also have molds, color, glitter, means of melting. The start up can be costly. If you get in and stay in and make different kinds of baits then the cost will go down.

I may have some ideas for you. Which Fenwicks are they?

Mine has a screw on cap on top of the driver's console. I never check it unless I get some slippage. Then I remove the cap, rotate the motor slowly all the way both directions and fill it up. Mine is 7 years old and has a minute leak somewhere that we can't find so I have to top it off a couple of times each year.

Before I would spend 20 grand on any boat, I'd have to weigh a few factors: my fishing style, my fishing partners, my amount and type of equipment, my tow vehicle and probably most importantly the type of water I would be fishing. Once I got all that in mind then I'd know what size boat and motor I would be happy using. After that I'd make a list of boats that I would want to own and look them up in the NADA guides so that I could be realistic on just what that much money would get me. For me the list would be headed by Champion, Bass Cat, Allison, and last on my list would be Ranger. I would not even look at other brands but to each his own. Now I'd be ready to deal with finding and trying out boats in my size and price range hoping to find a good late model Champion with a 175 or bigger Merc and a good trolling motor.

I had to recarpet one on my Champion trailer. I got everything together and went to the lake. I launched my wife in the boat. She played around while I did the work in the parking lot. No boat in the way while I did my job.

In my boat 19. With another guy 5 (4 in my bac rac and 1 in my hand). Brands are Gloomis IMX, St. Croix Avid, and Fenwick HMG.

I'd say with that setup, you have too stiff a rod and too thick line. Back off on the line and see if that helps. You might also have to switch to braid to improve distance.

I'm happy for you. Like I stated if I were moving from my C 206 it would be to a 210. It should give you many many years of great service. On that Opti. Be sure to warm it up good before you take off. That has always been the number one killer of that motor. I never move my boat out of the no wake area until the engine temp is at least 120°.

Since fish don't have hands, if I can feel them then the bait is in their mouth. I don't drop, reel up and set the hook. I keep my rod at or below 11:00 o'clock all the time and just set the hook when I feel a bite or extra weight.

You are talking about 3 different types of maintenance: boat, motor, trailer. Boat maintenance-- I do myself including electronics, trolling motor, batteries, etc. except if I see a spider crack then I go to the glass shop and have it fixed Trailer maintenance-- I check my brakes, fluid, lights, tires, bearings, etc on a regular basis. My trailer is 7 years old with the original bearings in but I keep them maintained with marine grease. I have taken them out once, inspected them, put in new seals, and repacked them. Motor maintenance-- I pull the prop and check for mono behind it a couple of times each year. I change the lower unit lube every 6 months. I change plugs every 100 hours. I have the impellor changed every 3 years. Once a year I have a moonlighting tech come by the house and give everything a good looking over.

I have only had one ride anywhere close to the Champion ride and that was in a Bass Cat. But they don't have the fishability of a Champion. I have only been in one Triton and was not impressed with that one.

I would get the Champion 210 if I were trading my old 206 off.

Also you can stick 1/2 an Alka Seltzer tablet in before the foam and add an extra aspect to the floating tube.

Big fish baits for me around MO have always been spinnerbaits with #5 and 7 Colorado blades, Zara Spooks, and big bodied jigs with 7" craw trailers.

There are a lot more variables than jig weight to consider in the fall rate like: line diameter and material, head shape, trailer shape, trailer size, amount of skirting material, etc. Your best bet would be to get the depth of water figured out and make casts with both and count them down.

Learn this proceedure and you won't need the pliers. http://www.in-fisherman.com/magazine/articles/if2806_HookRemoval/index.html

My rods don't leave the rod locker. The rod handles are supported on one end and the tips on the other end. They have been there for years and I have not noticed any crooked rods. If you are worried about that issue, store them with the reels dismounted.